Counting Zeros
by KalGal
Summary: When you are born, you are given a Counter, a Strip, a Clock. A small piece of metal embeded in your wrist that will count down the time till you meet the person most perfectly matched to you. I found mine, we are happy, and we are set to be married even in spite of the revolutionists and the rebels that attack Soul City. So riddle me this, why has mine started to count down again?


**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

At birth, your life is placed in the hands of an equation. One problem that is able to figure out your fate. A small strip is placed on every child to leave the hospital that will count down the time till the marked baby meets their perfect match. This is common knowledge. But something went wrong, my strip is defective, mistaken. In the weeks before my wedding my strip reset, it's flashing letters that read 00:00:00:00:00:00 now are counting down again blaring out the impossible numbers 00:00:00:04:00:45. I will meet my other perfect match in five hours time.

10 hours before

My arm was sore. I felt my hand reach down under the covers and scratch around the little light strip around my wrist. I rolled out from under Kaien's arm and sat up, my tingling fingers fumbling for the bedside lamp. When the light flipped on, I slowly let my eyes adjust before stumbling for the bathroom and the cream that would sooth the rash around the bright white metal embedded in my arm.

When the itch stopped I padded back into the bedroom to grab my slippers so the tile in the hallway wouldn't be so cold. This apartment was new to me, I had only known him for little over three months. I had moved in less than three weeks ago and still I'd find myself bumping into things I had forgotten were there.

The fridge opened on well oiled hinges to revel a big fat load of nothing. For a man who could eat a whole cow in a single sitting, he had nothing to eat. The freezer was full of ice trays and old freezer burned ice cream cartons. I pulled out the Rocky Road and drug around in the different draws to find the spoons.

When I finally found them, I grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch. The remote was sitting on the arm rest of the chair and I quickly snatched it up so I could turn down the volume so I wouldn't wake the man sleeping in the other room.

The news channel flashed to life on the screen, a rerun of the show from earlier that night. I slowly raised the volume a little higher, one little tick at a time. The pretty news ladies smile looked almost painted on, her eyes almost ready to pop out of her perfectly styled head. She started talking to the camera.

"Today was a striking loss for the Soul City, with rebel forces taking over the west gate and shutting down all communications to the outside world. Their leader, his name still unknown, was spotted on the front lines today, no pictures were able to be salvaged of the man but the list of the missing is said to be sent out to families by the end of the week. The President came out on this sad occasion to say a few words of remorse for all the men who lost their lives in this long and harsh battle. Again he claims to crush this rebellion in its heart and made the ones responsible, pay. This is Yumi Yama, signing off. Goodnight."

I took another bite of ice cream and rewound the tape a bit, watching as a low quality camera captured the fighting. Men in the black uniforms charged a small group of renegades, their guns firing. The shot got blurry, like the cameraman was drunk. Finally the camera dropped and we saw why. A bloody hand fell into view and a pair of boots landed into the frame, a bloody black sword soon after it. I could feel my whole body shiver.

I found myself itching my arm again, the annoying tingling was back. I could hear the light being switched on in the bedroom and I quickly shut off the tv and tossed the ice cream carton onto the side table before closing my eyes and pretending to sleep. I really didn't feel like talking to him right now.

I could feel his eyes on me, maybe even a slight smile like I've seen him do before. He gently removed the blanket and lifted me into his arms. I was always slight, never tall, and always called petite. Slowly, we made our way back into the bedroom where he sat me back in bed and covered me up. I made a risky move and opened my eyes to get a quick glance at the clock. The numbers 5:04 flashed back. Kaien would head off to work in the accounting district in less then an hour.

I snapped my eyes closed the second he walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist from the shower he was going to take. I could feel the blush rise up to color my cheeks and hoped that his mind was elsewhere so he wouldn't notice. The bathroom door shut with an almost silent click.

I rolled over and thew my arms out so they rested on his discarded pillow. We had met on normal enough terms. My small little rabbit had gotten out of its cage and in my hurry to catch it, haven't noticed my timer was counting down. It was just something you kinda forgot about after a while. Anyway, I smacked into a man on his way to work and that was when I felt it, the tingling on my arm that alerted me to the fact that all my numbers were up.

Now after knowing him very little, my brother and his father had already arranged the marriage. I could feel a shiver slide up my spine.

I know I should be happy, it was every girls dream to be paired with a handsome man with a promising job and a nice house. Maybe it was me that was defective.

I felt my body unwind in rhythm with the showers sound, my eyes drifting shut and my limbs going numb.

When the sunlight leaked into the bed through the cracked curtain, I peeked out through an equally cracked eyelid. My neck made a questionable crack as I sat up, making me wonder how long I had been out.

The clock was blurry and I picked out that it was around 9:30-ish. I threw my legs over the side of the mattress and pushed myself off the bed, making sure that my long pant legs wouldn't catch and make me fall.

I brought my hand up to my hair to toss it over my shoulder when I noticed something. My strip was a different color. The pretty, clean, white outer metal has somehow changed to a vibrant orange.

"What the hell?" I whispered. I brought my finger up to the metal to make sure I was not just hallucinating but when they connected, a shock bounced from the counter and into my fingertip. I let out a yelp and glanced at the strip with a frown. Maybe I might have to go into the strip makers. I have never heard of anything like this to happen, but they must have and explanation.

"But why in the world would it turn orange?" I questioned and a spark shot up my arm, making my spine tingle. My eyes flashed down to the metal and I could feel my brows knit together in confusion.

It had started to count down again.

Five hours. That's what is said. But that makes no sense.

I had found my partner. I was normal. I was set to be married in a few weeks!

I let my hand drop to my side and walked to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich before sitting down to watch tv. Normal. I took a nap and finished all the paperwork for my job as a secretary of the Nature Department. Normal. I cooked shrimp and rice for supper before setting the table. Normal.

So why, when he walked in the door, did I jump? I pulled the long sleeved shirt down farther to cover my hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked, pilling food onto a plate and grabbing a beer from the fridge before walking into his study. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I followed closely behind him, silent until he stopped talking. I could almost feel his shoulders slum when he let out a sign at the sheer amount of paper work he had to do for tomorrow. I watched at he rubbed at his scalp, his eyes were rounded in red and his hands were covered in stamps from his deliveries to other Districts and Devisions. I couldn't burden him.

"Nothing, I'm just worrying about the rebels. They are getting really close to the house." I made up and my frown deepened when I watched a smile pull at his lips.

"You think of is as your home now?" He questioned and I strangled out a laugh before nodding my head slightly. I felt bad for lying but he looked so sad. "That's good to hear. I'm sure the army will put a stop to those idiots."

"Yeah." I mumbled under my breath and quickly looked at the clock. It felt like the walls were closing in on me, crushing me, suffocating me. My mouth deceived me and blurted out the fist excuse I could think of. "I need more groceries. I'll be right back."

I could hear him yelling behind me but I sprinted past the small entryway and grabbed my coat on the way out before slamming the door and racing down the stairs. When I reached the marketplace I slowed down and caught my breath. The people swarming the streets gave me weird looks, frowning and hiding their children behind their legs so the crazy running woman couldn't hurt them.

I picked my way through the crowd to the small booth in the corner of the bazaar. It was tiny and held the best fruits and vegetables, all the bigger shops were old and warm, not crisp and chilled.

"Good Evening Rukia! How are you? Is it Thursday already?" The shop owner asked, fiddling with his hands.

"No, it's Tuesday, I'm a little early but I needed my produce for Kaien." His name felt odd on my tongue, wrong almost. As the man packed up my food, a warm body bumped up to me and I gasped. The man was the strangest looking person I had ever seen.

His blue hair was shooting up in different directions and his equally blue eyes ran over me with a slight smirk. He reached a hand out and the shopkeeper handed him a prepared bag, loaded with every kind of produce they had.

"Thanks, if I were you, I would get inside. Soon." The small smile slipped off his face as he gave an almost unseen wave.

"What did he mean?" I asked but he didn't answer the question, choosing instead to pull back the fruit crates and slammed the awning closed. He scurried hurriedly out of the small hole in the side, racing to his house built behind his stand.

"Run home child! Run home and board up your windows and lock your doors. That man knows where the rebels will strike. He gave us a warning." And with those words he raced inside and slammed the door.

My heart was hammering around in my chest, making my head rattle and my legs to wobble. I hefted the bag up onto my shoulder so I could carry it better but that's when I saw them.

Soul City's police force was racing down the streets, shoving people out of the way. This started chaos. People flocked to the exits and I was almost crushed. The air was being sucked from my lungs and I was shoved into a side wall, crying out when my head hit the rock with a sickening crack.

I felt my body melt, become numb. My head tilted to the side and I noticed that my clock was ticking down, slowly. Silently.

I let out a breath as I noticed one minute remained. When this was all over with and done, I would limp home and tell my designated husband about my adventure. I would tell the man my clock told me I would be the perfect for, that mine was broken and then we would laugh and pick out colors for his tie for the wedding. Somehow, these thoughts only made my head hurt more.

25.

A small child tripped and was smothered by the men and woman scrambling to run away from the police. They had since pulled out their guns and made a blockade with thick metal shields.

20.

Gun fire and screams echoes around the bazaar. Blood drips from dying men, stain the hands of woman trying to stop the blood. Bullets hit the small overhang covering the wall were I sat. I watched in silent horror as the rocks and fabric surrounded me, cutting off a side and making my head pound. Something warm drips from my head and drops down onto my hand. I think it's my blood.

15.

Its definitely my blood. The police, realizing their blunder, ran screaming and yelling into their radios. Demanding, questioning why they had to shoot. Everything was quiet besides the soft moaning of the wounded and the weeping of the bystanders, sobbing for their lost companions.

10.

I could feel the rocks being removed and more small beams of light cover my face, making me squint. A gentle voice calls others over. They are wearing strange clothing, old t-shirts and bright died shorts. In the City we were required to only have a wardrobe of browns, blacks, and whites. These must be the rebels.

5.

The strange thing was, I wasn't scared. The woman looking at me had long orange hair that matched her cut yellow shorts in intensity. She waved frantically over her shoulder to the others running around. I saw first aid kit flash in and out of view as these people we had for so long seen as traitors and barbarians, healed and helped the dying people. While the police ran away.

2.  
A bright head of hair flashed into my line of sight and I watched as he slowly lifted my face into his hands so he could look at my bleeding head. I spotted a scar, jagged and old, right in the place his strip should be.

1.

A pleasant shiver was sent up my arm when we locked eyes. His were a sparkling brown, light and almost yellowish. My clock was done counting. It had found him.

"We'll I'll be damned." He muttered and I flinched as he gently picked me up only to lay me down on a cot. My ears were ringing but I strained my hearing to catch what he was saying. His lips seemed to move in a provocative manner.

He smirked and tugged at the string hidden beneath his shirt. His thin strip was tied to the end and dangled on the chair, reflecting the light. The waterproof glass protecting the counter was shattered and only a single digit could be seen. The number was a big fat zero.

"It used to be fixed. This thing broke when I got into a fight with my dad when I was a kid. Cracked when it was hit by that brute of a man." He helped me sit up and handed me a cup of water and laughed when I reluctantly took a drink. He carefully pried my hand from the plastic and ghosted a finger over my orange clock. "Why orange?"

"It changed on its own." I replied, yanking my hand back and causing my glass of water to jerk, slashing its contents onto his shirt. "I'm not sorry about that."

"You're cute, you know that?" He smirked, glancing back down to his white counter. "So lets talk about your options."

"Oh fantastic, my captor is giving me choices!" I threw my hands up in exasperation that caused my head to start pounding again.

"In case you forgot, it wasn't my people who shot up the square of innocent people!" His light attitude seemed to evaporate and he quickly ran his hand through his hair with quick jerky movements. "We just came to get some fruit."

"How many?"

"How many what." He asked, his tone flat but I knew he knew what I meant. He looked over and the corner of his frown tilted up a bit, giving the impression of a sad half smile. "Too many."

I let my head drop and rubbed my neck. I could feel my body was wound tight, like a coiled spring.

"My name is Rukia. I live with my boyfriend down the street. I'm normal. I want to go home. It's nice to meet you never less but now I have to go." I held out my hand to shake and he took it gently, his large hand covering mine. I could feel the calluses that littered his palms and the scars and scratches. Kaien never had those, the worst thing I've seen him get was a paper cut and he cried like a little girl.

"Ichigo, but you might know me better as the rebel leader." He tried to smile, maybe to make me feel better but I could see the tightness of his eyes. Something clicked and just as I was about to ask something a siren sounded and he shot up. "Gotta move sweetheart!"

He helped me up and folded the cot into a tight square that he easily hefted over his shoulder. I spun around and watched as many of the wounded and the unwounded followed the rebels into the safely of the forest.

"What is that?! Where are they all going?!" I called over the ringing and Ichigo handed his load over to a young man who sprinted to catch up to the disappearing group.

"They had the truth told to them and they chose to come with us. You don't get that same option. Go home Rukia. Be with your boyfriend and live a happy life. Forget about me." He muttered and kissed my forehead. Before I could push him off I could feel my body going numb, my mind growing foggy and my limbs turning to jelly. My fingers reached up to rub the sleeping ointment off my forehead before it took control. I could feel that it was to late.

"Come find me when you're ready." He smiled without humor before sprinting off into the trees, their shadows covering his trail. I could hear the thudding of boots and the crack the polices heels made on the glass scattered around the bazaar. I think they might have been calling out to me. Everything went black.

The stark smell of antiseptic was thick in the air, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust. Someone at my bedside gasped and grabbed my shoulders, shaking till I pried my eyes open and smacked them. Kaien looked shocked.

"What?" I questioned, annoyed. He seemed a little taken back my my rude tone. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're...in the hospital. The rebels took you, god knows what would have happened if the police haven't gotten there in time..." He let out a deep chuckle and ran a hand through his hair. The color orange seemed to flash in my vision before I blinked and it vanished.

"The police started it. They were the ones shooting up the square in the first place-" I was going to continue but he shushed me, throwing his hand over my mouth. And calling me a liar.

I didn't bring it up for three weeks.

A month.

Two month.

I was a robot. The accident pushed the wedding back to the end of the year and I couldn't even pretend not be be happy with the change. Ichigo started appearing in my thoughts more than I would have liked.

It got to the point I would dream about him sometimes. We would be running and them swimming or maybe I would just be running my hands through his bright hair in a small warm tent. At first I was ashamed, I was getting married! But the feeling of intimacy gradually decayed between Kaien and me till all I felt for him was a lingering sense of friendship.

It was a Tuesday when I went up to the attic to get the box of old children's books to donate to the small library when I found a small manual with the words 'Counters Guide' on it in big flossing letters. I don't know how long I sat there with that small book in my lap, flipping through the pages.

At about eight that night I heard the door open and close. He didn't even say hello. I listened for the clatter of the pre-made plate I had made for him earlier that day and the buzzing the microwave made. I went back to my book. I turned the page and gasped.

'If you can not be responsible and happen to brake your Counter, you must get a replacement right away. If it remains broken for more than a weeks time, the Counter of your partner will default and find the mate that is the second best choice. Be warned, if you do run into your intended partner, your clock with restart. As the law states, you are to remain with your seconded intended.'

I dropped the book like it had burned me. Ichigo had broken his counter when he was a child and had never fixed it. When I came into contact with Ichigo, my counter restarted because as much as I wish otherwise, Kaien was not the one haunting my dreams at night. The puzzle fell into place.

The world seemed to shift a bit, making the attic tilt and my head spin. My hand reached up and ghosted over the thin scar from that day. I stood up without noticing it.

I climbed down the ladder with weak legs and walked slowly towards the lit study. I leaned gently against the doorframe and watched as he went about his work. His long fingers flew across the paper and his eyes darted around, trying to see any mistakes. He caught my eye and put his work things away.

I padded into the room and threw my arms around him. He seemed frozen in shock and I carefully sighed right as he wrapped his arms about my waist. I pulled away gently before smiling and backing away slowly.

"Goodbye." I muttered and I finally let the smile pulling at my lips to tug up my face, making Kaien's eyebrows scrunch together. He reached out for me and I couldn't help but let out a startled laugh. My legs tingled with excitement while my heart was beating out a samba.

"Rukia, are you ok? I knew you needed to see someone after the accident. It was hard to see all those people die but-" I cut him off with a shouted no and I watched as shock colored his face.

"This whole place is poison, eating away at your mind till all thats left is a shell, something the government can mold into the perfect civilian. I'm going to run among the trees like we should be. I'm going to learn the truth." I really didn't know what I was saying, my mouth was moving, that much I could tell, but the words slipping between my lips were exactly how I felt. I couldn't remember the last time I told someone how I truly felt.

"Stop this! You're scaring me! I'll call the police." He threatened, reaching down to grab the phone. His knuckles turned white under the pressure he placed the receiver under.

"Do just that, but remember, it was the police that shot up the square, I saw it with my own eyes. The rebels helped the people, told them what was really going on! I want that! For the past two months I have sat in this house like the obedient wife everyone expects me to be, but no more!" I felt my feet carrying me to the front door and I could hear him following me with hurried steps. As I was reaching down to grasp the handle he called out to me.

"What about me?"

His question bounced around in my head for awhile before settling. My hand hovered over the shiny brass knob.

"You can have the one you were suppose to have." I muttered and I smiled at the confusion twisting his face. I dug my fingers under the glass top of my counter and I could feel the thin metal holding it into my arm give way, letting a small drizzle of blood follow it. I could hear him calling my name and feel his cold fingers trying to pry mine from my bloody arm. Strip came free and I held the twisted pile in the palm of my hands.

"What they hell happened to you?!" He moved backwards slowly, looking me up and down like he was seeing me for the first time. Hell, I was seeing myself for the first time.

"Did you know, that if your partners counter brakes that yours will find the next best match? I was never meant for you and you were never meant for me. I hope you find her, the nice woman who will be happy to hear you walk in the door and can sleep at your side at night without dreaming of a different man. That woman is not me."

I reached up and smashed my counter against the wall, the glass making a crack of finality. Even from my spot i could see the new numbers counting down on the inside of his wrist. I yanked the door open and raced down the steps, the adrenaline pumping through my veins till I could see every detail of my surroundings. My lungs burned and my head was getting foggy but I pushed myself. I noticed that he had not followed me.

The trees peeked over the horizon, their green tops calling me closer. I ran with crazed abandon. I reached the police stop station, the place you had to have stamps to get into. I pumped my legs harder and cleared the pole blocking the exit with one single leap. I let out a laugh, my soul was lighter than ever. This is what insanity must feel like.

I could hear the clatter of boots on the pavement for a little whole before my speed got the best of them and they quit. Soon the City's cement gave way to the earth and its wet mug and soft grass.

I slid to a stop, kicking my shoes off and running faster, my sneakers hitting my thigh every so often. My whole body was on fire and all I could think about seeing him. It was almost pathetic if I thought about it hard enough. I caught sight of my shattered counter. Without the glass, the orange metal seemed dull and lackluster, but that was not what caught my attention, it was the blue flashing lights counting down seconds.

My heels dug into the ground, stopping my sprint in a second. I spun around, looking for any trace of bright orange. A flash happened to my right and I took off after it. He was playing with me, seeing if I could keep up. I would show him. We raced through the trees, dogging and weaving till I closed in on his location.

Just as I was about to pounce on him, he spun around unexpectedly, reaching his arms out to catch me mid-jump. I laughed, throwing myself and letting him catch me. We fell to the ground in an undignified heap. I planted both hands on the grass on each side of his head. He smirked up at me.

"Two months. I thought you weren't coming." His whole demeanor changed, his eyes grew sharp and his hands grasped the pockets of my overalls, spinning me around so I was planted against the ground with him on top.

"I think a mental breakdown might have helped the process along." I murmured, watching him watch me. "So are you going to tell me the truth?"

"Sure, the governments an ass, the president is evil, they have an evil scheme, we stop them, and you are hot." He leaned down and I brought a hand up quick, covering him mouth.

"Hold it Rambo. Who do you think you're taking to? You don't even know me." He smirked and I felt a shiver flow up my spine. The adrenaline was still moving like fire through my veins. "Besides, I think I'm insane."

"Only the best of people are."

"You want to know something? These Counters are nothing but trouble, they are machines without understanding." My voice had dropped, taking on a husky quality.

"But they are never wrong."

"Never."

**I know I should work on my other stories but I really like this idea and wanted to try my hand at writing Insane!Rukia. I really like it, which I think might be a bad thing. Hope you like it.**


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